The Crimson Flight, Ruin to Awakening
by Sigmatic
Summary: Set after Nohr's victory, the Dawn Kingdom was razed by an invisible army. Already devastated by the war with Nohr, it stood no chance of victory against the new threat. The daughter of the queen, Caeldori, was forced to flee for her life. Now, she resides in a kingdom far from home, where future tragedy looms. A Rewrite of Crimson Flight.


**A/N: This is a rewrite of Crimson Flight. It follows the same basic premise, but it will be written out differently. The story is still rated T due to swearing, violence, and themes. Give a review if you have any feedback! **

Chapter 1: The Fateful Flight

The sound of birds chirping was all it took to snap her back to reality. Her maraschino eyes widened to take in her new setting. From the tranquil call of the wildlife to the small breeze, it was serene. She did not mind laying in the grass and gazing upon the clear blue sky, but this whole situation did not sit right to her. As soon as she propped herself up, a wave of emotions overwhelmed her. First, an unimaginable pain manifested in her side. The girl's hand slowly brushed past the area to discover blood. Her injury was perplexing, but it was the least of her worries. To couple with the physical scarring, her mind finally began to piece together why she found herself in an unfamiliar clearing.

Bile rose in her throat as the memories hit her like an avalanche. No longer did the laceration on her side matter. She sniffled as the memories continued to play over in her mind. She clutched her head, as if to suppress her growing headache. Immediately, the red-haired girl took to her feet. Despite such vivid images, the forest was at peace. There was not a single reason to be on edge. Where the thunder of footsteps and screams deafened her, not a single other being was in earshot. Yet, it was impossible to ignore the oppressive thoughts. Images continued to cycle through her mind. So many losses that very day. She was powerless, a coward no less. Her fist planted into a nearby tree, a show of her frustration.

Rather than continue to dwell on her survivor's guilt, the female took her first few steps. Her disorientation was evident, but she did not let that hold her down. The world was spinning; her vision was failing her. The wounds on both her body and psyche held her back from outright sprinting. The girl glanced to her backside, wary of the shadows themselves. The images of the invisible soldiers left her feeling vulnerable. All it took was one unnoticed root for her to tumble to the ground, "Gods..." She muttered out in pain.

Once more, she collected herself off the ground. It was to be a long journey toward civilization she thought. Admittedly, she had not the faintest clue of her whereabouts. Prior to her awakening, she was in a pavilion, or rather the ruins of one. A frown etched her face as she remembered one last memory before the world turned dark for her. She remembered a woman, likely around her mother's age, pushing her into a tear in reality. It was like a gaping hole in the fabric of space. As much as she wished to dwell on what the portal meant, her mind continued to fall back to her last sight. When she was ejected into the abyss, her bright eyes glanced back to see a swordsmaster claim the life of the woman. The horrific sight left her in tears, but she knew not why. Amongst the fallen, this person was a complete stranger to her, in fact she was a former enemy of her realm.

Her thoughts lingered on the odd expression on that woman's face. The redhead knew not what made the girl give her such a look, but it was forever seared into her memories. The details of the female forever within her mind. The bright red of the other actually reminded her of her own hair color. While she had no intention of mimicking the other, the survivor struggled to deny how she found the twin-tails style of her savior to be very appealing. A sense of pride welled in her for some odd reason. Alas, she knew not why the other's tragedy haunted her.

After a small distance, the girl again was losing her balance. She knew not which way was the right way toward civilization, but her guess was all she had. Without any actual direction, there was little to be had in waiting to decide a path. Suffice to say, she stood herself up with a tree and continued with her march. Hope colored her dull eyes when she spotted a figure in the distance. She hastened her pace promptly. Though, her motivation froze as she made out more of the other person. Despite her upbringing, she knew well of the dangerous types. So when faced with a brawny man with a scraggly beard and twisted grin, her response was to hide behind one of the trees.

The brigand glanced in her direction briefly, but he did not move from his position. All was quiet for the next few minutes. Everything changed when two new figures emerged. The redhead squinted as she glanced over the two people. Armed with an iron lance, a soldier stood to the other's side. He was likely an escort the girl deduced. The other was a girl of her own age. The girl's wavy brown hair swayed with each small gust. Both were unaware of the imposing figure. The redhead found herself in an impossible situation. If she cried out to the two, her position would be compromised. If she remained quiet, the likely brigand would surely gain the upper-hand.

Her indecision brought about the bigger man's opportunity. His axe planted right into the guard's cranium. The innocent man's lance dropped, casted aside by the brigand's kick. Both the girl in hiding and the brunette stared on in horror. While the redhead did well to compose herself, the other was on the verge of tears. "Easy there, missy. You ain't gonna die just yet. You look like you could fetch a mighty ransom." The gruff man said with a chuckle. His slow advance caused the other to freeze entirely.

"I... You killed him. You really killed him..." The brunette whimpered, sheer disbelief obvious in her voice. To the redhead, the scene was all too familiar. Her wound ached in a way it did not before.

"Easy there, lass. You shouldn't be worrying over him." The brigand's hand harshly gripped the young girl's face. His sinister expression did not sit well with the girl hidden in the trees. Yet, she did not know what to do. Before, she had the solution of allowing the soldier to attack first. With the gaping cut on his skull, that plan carried no merit. She allowed the man to die; her cowardice was to blame. Her mind went back to the moments prior to her arrival. She was unable to save them. All her kin no longer lived. Her eyes glanced to the jewelry that adorned her body. They lost their meaning with her home's fall. In a moment of fury, she gripped a precious necklace given to her by her father and chucked it. There was no real rationale to her plan aside from letting the other girl have the chance to escape. In a twist of fortune, the gruff man did not examine the source, but his eyes lingered on the brilliant gold and gems.

In the man's moment of greed, the brunette remained frozen. The redhead cursed her luck as she remembered the other's fears. She was not going to let this girl die by her inaction. Her body moved on autopilot toward them. The brigand's attention connected with her too late. She was able to procure the dejected lance. His eyes widened in horror as the tip plunged into his chest. To the redhead, she could only stare in horror at her work. Yet, the guilt of manslaughter paled in comparison to the relief she received from knowing she saved the other, "You... don't deserve to live." She spat, but it felt wrong to do so. Her mother, despite her odd beginnings, championed peace in her time. To spit on those values, she felt tainted.

"You bitch," the brigand growled, "you're asking for death!" The man readied his axe once more, but the weight coupled with his fatal injury forced him to discard the weapon. His large hands grabbed out at her, even if the lance remained lodged in his body. The redhead continued to back away, just out of his reach. His efforts to touch her proved futile as the lance further embedded itself as he crawled forward. "Dammit..." He coughed out blood once more and succumbed to the attack.

After the villain finally drew his last breath, both girls broke out crying at the whole affair. For the red-haired one, her tears were for more than just this trauma. It was only in that moment that she truly felt the weight of her actions, or rather inactions. She was capable to do so much more, but her fear stopped her in the past. She cussed herself for listening to all those around her. It was wrong of her to abandon them. To hell with the kingdom, she was just an individual. She was to never be a Tenma Knight of her father's level.

"H-hey... are you alright?" The brunette's words were the last she heard as she fell into unconsciousness.

For her, she seemingly woke up moments later. Though, the change of scenery was noted quickly. Her eyes glanced to the nearest window. It was around sunset at that time, but she remembered it to be around noon when she engaged the brigand. A pain was felt in the back of her head, "Where am I?" She muttered aloud, unaware of the other person in the room.

"You're in a guest room at my estate." The other chimed in, her presence now known to the redhead. "We are lesser nobility, so accommodations are not too extravagant sadly." The girl's vocabulary caught the other's attention, but her focus remained on why the girl said that much to her. It was a mere sidelong glance to the necklace, the one she discarded, sitting at her bedside that connected the dots for her. The redhead realized such trinkets were worth quite a lot. The brunette's tone toward her was not a sneer, but rather humbleness. Considering her former station, she knew the other's sentiments all too well.

The girl slowly sat herself up. Her eyes took in the unfamiliar white tunic on her body, as well as felt the bandages crinkle with her movement, "It is perfectly fine. May I ask... who are you?" Despite risking her life for the other girl, she knew not even the other's identity.

The girl giggled at not starting with an introduction, "I'm Sumia. Sumia Riegel, and... I'm truly thankful for your aid. You... saved my life," She squeaked out awkwardly. The girl was practically twiddling her thumbs, likely nervous of their status.

The redhead did not know how best to approach this topic. After all, she felt it right to discard her name. It was only fitting since she abandoned her home in its most dire time, "Well met. I'm..." She could not will herself to say the name. Yet, she had no other to speak of. Whether it was out of little creativity or sentimentality, she also did not wish to let go of the name. "I am... Caeldori. No family name, not anymore."

"Kale... dory?" Sumia voiced her confusion, likely unsure of how to even pronounce her foreign name. The girl knew well she was the outsider here. Her entire setting screamed that much. The brigand spoke in such a peculiar way. The soldier was adorned in a new emblem. The girl before her sounded and looked nothing like a Hoshidan. If anything, she assumed herself to be in Nohr. Though, the method of traveling here opened her mind to the more fantastical ideas.

"It's... never mind. I don't wish to be called that." The very vivid images of her father playfully calling out to hey by her given name became twisted by the dark images of her home's fall. She no longer wished to be her. The daughter of the Tenma Knight Captain, Subaki, and the Queen of the Dawn Kingdom, Hinoka, was deceased. She died the moment she turned her back on her land.

Sumia cocked her head at the erratic behavior. To Caeldori, she knew how she likely was trying the other girl's patience. It was unbecoming of her to be acting so rude, even if she no longer accepted her birthright. "I get that it is an unfamiliar name, but you don't have to be so quick to get rid of it."

"No, no," She was committed to her idea, "I... don't feel right calling myself that." Her providing a name was to be courteous, but nothing more. To forget her life, she needed a new name.

The brunette remained perplexed by the other's words, "... You're quite mysterious." Her a chuckle found itself among her words. The redhead stared on with curiosity over how the other looked practically amused by her vagueness. From what she thought, the assumption was that Sumia may act wary at first.

Eventually, she did find the courage to ask what possessed the other, "Is that a... problem?" Her meekness was enough to ease Sumia back into being sensible. Caeldori was thankful of how Sumia was so honest with her emotions. Her relief was instantaneous when the girl flashed a bright smile. The brunette was quite like an open book.

"Not in the least!" Sumia chirped out, "A little mystery adds to excitement. It's why I love novels! I'm guessing you're from a good family, right? Does that mean you know how to read well?" The mention of family was like a hit to the gut. Caeldori froze when the thoughts poured in again. The dizziness warped the room around her. The once white bedding turned to a shade of crimson. No longer was it just the brunette at her bedside. Rather, a myriad of shadows loomed over her.

The odd pause soon became noticeable to Caeldori. She shook her head to clear away the illusions, "Y-yes, err... kind of." There was no easy way to say no longer.

Sumia likely registered the change in Caeldori, but she continued her thought sheepishly. "So, does that mean you are literate?" The redhead noticed then what was in the girl's hands, a leather-bound book. Sumia met the lingering gaze on her possession and propped the item on the other's lap. With a great eagerness to lighten the mood, the redhead obliged and opened the book.

While there was a common language in speaking between Nohr and Hoshido, the language aspect was bit different. Her culture took more to the use of symbols to represent words, so she was not exactly complete literate to the Nohrian style of writing. As per her mother's request, a tutor did teach her some of the other language. The text before her looked quite a lot like Nohrian, but it was not the same. It could be read like Nohrian, but it was nonsensical. "I... can recognize a bit."

"Strange, where are you from?" Caeldori was about to ask the same, but it appeared Sumia beat her to it. It was apparent somewhat that she... might not be in Nohr. The other never once referred to her as Hoshidan, nor was there any plausible explanation to say where the portal took her.

With that idea in mind, it was neither wise to specify she was from Hoshido regardless. In Nohr, she would be seen with resentment. In some other continent, Hoshido was of no relevance. "I... cannot say."

"Why not?" Sumia immediately responded with, unsure of why the other clamped up so quickly.

Her gaze fell down. No legitimate excuse to give came to mind, "Because, I don't like talking about my past..." She blurted coldly. The redhead felt ashamed of her behavior, but her head was pounding.

Despite her rigid response, Sumia did not look deterred. "Oh, Ohhhh! My mistake!" Her voice was still of so much genuine emotion, "I really do apologize. Geez, is this how I am supposed to treat the person that saved my life?" Her nervous chuckle actually caused Caeldori to feel a strange sense of ease. In her company, her heavy mind was uplifted.

"It's alright. I don't mind it, but it is just not a subject I am comfortable. I... wish to forget my past." Caeldori admitted again, set on her task ahead. "Forgive me, but... I would like to know more of my new setting. I'm new to this area, could you tell me just where I am?"

The brunette laughed at the strange request. As much as her amusement was endearing, the girl's cheeriness was also a little excessive. "We are in Ylisse, silly. For a foreign noble, you really know little of the world."

"Well, I was sheltered all my life." Caeldori was not wrong in that sentiment. Even with rising relations between her kingdom and the other territories, she never crossed the borders, let alone her castle. To the kingdom, she was... a precious treasure. Such sentiments felt foolish in that moment. Her worth was defined by the kingdom after all. She could not help but ask what was the worth of a wayward royal.

Sumia bobbed her head to the idea, "I totally get that! I really ever get to leave my town. Aside from trips to Ylisstol- that's the capital by the way, I hardly ever get time to myself. Though, it may get worse once my parents know of what happened. You don't have a place to stay, right?" Caeldori was grateful for how much of a chatterbox Sumia acted. The excitable nature and her warmness were just what the redhead needed in that moment. Though, her eyebrow raised at the question.

She blinked, "I do not actually." Due to her new arrival, she was without even the most basic of resources. In the worst case, she could always pawn off her valuables. The gold may allow her to at least afford food. It was a far-cry from her former life, but her survival was enough. Such thoughts of dying danced in her mind, but her living on was the least she could do for the fallen. If she reunited with her father in the great beyond then, he may not forgive her. Though, she already believed herself to be unworthy of his love after she left him to die.

"Perfect! You can stay here!" The brunette suggested happily, to which caused Caeldori to double take. She gave an incredulous look at the other. Even with the crazy offer, there was no lie or joke to be noticed in the chocolate eyes of Sumia.

The redhead pushed aside the blankets to sit herself up. First off, she did completely piece together just where Sumia got the idea to begin with. "How did you..." The knowing gaze of Sumia was enough to make the redhead realized she put all the pieces together herself. A lack of family. Little understanding of her locale. Meeting in a forest filled with brigands. All of them were tell-tale clues of the fact. "Is that really wise? You only just met me. I've told you nothing aside from some strange name." In truth, she really was not giving the other much. There was no expectation to even be granted shelter if she begged. However, she was tempted to provide her valuables as compensation for her stay. It was not like they carried much sentimental value. Trinkets of a lost civilization was what she made of them.

Despite such an otherwise sound argument, Sumia merely shook her idea to the notion, "I get that, but you did save my life. It's pretty difficult to repay that debt." Her confident grin was met with a grimace from Caeldori. It was not like she did not want the generosity, far from it in fact, but she did not think herself worthy of such kindness. Even if what Sumia said was true, she let that soldier die. It was her indecision that killed him.

Though, she figured the other girl was dead set on some sort of compensation, "If you want me to repay it... you can help me come with a new name." It was very petty, but very necessary. If let to her own devices, she might have settled on a name like Matoi. It was very different from her previous one, but it did not necessarily sound like it belonged in Ylisse.

"Sure!" Oddly enough, Sumia accepted the idea, albeit suspiciously quick. Before Caeldori even could bring forward her first suggestion or idea, the brunette brought out a quill from her person. Rather than take a moment to find a piece of parchment, she began to write out on the novel. The redhead almost thought it purposeful until Sumia looked wide-eyed at her mistake. Nevertheless, the klutz thought to herself for a moment, "Could you say your old name once more?"

While confused, the girl complied to the request, "It is Caeldori."

"C... A... E...?" Sumia sounded it out obnoxiously.

The redhead was a bit embarrassed, but repeated herself again to be of help, "Caeldori."

"C... A... E... L... D... O... R... I..." The girl curiously glanced to how her name was being written out before her. From what she knew of Nohrian characters, it looked correct at least. Though, she did not know of why the girl was so thorough. Her scribbles were mostly incomprehensible.

Sumia's quill did finally stay. In a very overdramatic motion, she brought the page close to the girl's face. "C-Cordelia?" She read aloud with some struggle. At the very least, she could sound out the new words.

The brunette nodded her head in confirmation of the redhead's pronunciation, "Yep, it's perfect! See, it is an anagram. I get that you wish to move away from your old name, but you may not want to forget it. So, it'll be a new name, but it will also allow you to always remember who you once were."

"I... like that. Cordelia it is then." The redhead flashed a rare smile. It was going to take time to get used to, but she liked the sound of it.

"Glad to hear," Sumia stood up and walked back to the doorway, "but you're still staying here. There's no way I'm going to let my new friend be homeless."

"So it seems…" Cordelia giggled, not in a position to argue with her new friend.


End file.
